Introducing participatory action research to vocational fashion education: theories, practices, and implications

Abstract

This paper revisits the philosophical trajectory and practices in fashion education. It examines to what extent participatory action research (PAR) can contribute to the advancement of vocational education by emancipating practice-based skills and knowledge co-created by students, faculty members, and market practitioners. While the fashion market is dynamically reshaping today's fashion pedagogy by imparting new skills and abilities to students, this investigation aims to highlight the limitations of the Bauhaus tradition as a top down approach aimed at continually producing work-ready graduates for junior positions. Drawing upon the findings yielded by our experimental project fashionthnography.com, the analyses presented in this paper elucidate to what extent PAR can meet the intended goal of equipping the students with a higher level of working capabilities and creativity, as well as greater cultural appreciation. This study contributes to the expansion of vocational education and training, as its findings indicate that we need to embrace practice-based knowledge co-creation for longterm success in both industry and academia.

Issues and Trends in Fashion Education Sustainability

“…SD not only refers to the thinking of initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable development but also introduces the concept of the environment, with practical and theoretical tools that can be used to implement it (El-Deir, 2019). A study by Lam et al (2020), explained the initiative that experimental projects can equip students with higher ability and creativity, as well as cultural appreciation. In addition, student-centred learning can encourage students to continue learning after the learning session and live a more sustainable life in their own lives (Kamis et al, 2019).…”

Ghana's textile and apparel sector: a strategic assessment of skills needs and development through the STED framework

“…These earlier studies have also validated the PAR in other fields of studies: medicine (Barlow and Owens, 2018); higher education (Lateh et al. , 2021; Morales, 2016) and vocational fashion education (Lam et al. , 2022).…”

“…The PAR method is characterised by the advantages of collaborating or assembling key interviewees under one umbrella to investigate social issues and take actions to bring about social change, as indicated by earlier studies (McDonald, 2012). These earlier studies have also validated the PAR in other fields of studies: medicine (Barlow and Owens, 2018); higher education (Lateh et al, 2021;Morales, 2016) and vocational fashion education (Lam et al, 2022). All in, PAR is reflexive, as it motivates all the participants to critically examine their respective roles in the research process.…”